well i don't se photoshopp but I have something for like cropping, brightening, darkening, simple stuff like that and I think I can do that there because I had to for a contest I enter some photos into.thanks.

Really Nathan: You should put the pic (plus a crop of that grainy part) up on flickr and give us a chance to see what we're talking about here.
Hopefully the pic has all EXIF-data intact, then we have all we need to know.
Plroblem is (or may be): if you have manipulated the original with software, that might be the reason for the degradation (perhaps you did it inadvertently) and it might be that the EXIF-data are corrupted. Th major question then is: Do you have the unmanipulated original file as it came directly out of your cam? Then place that too on flickr...
-----------
B.t.w.: interesting thread! It's more "on-topic" than others in this section